Idol makers from West Bengal come to Kochi to make idols of Durga and her family during Durga Puja

From the outside, Lovely Nursery successful Kadavanthra, Kochi, looks similar conscionable different works nursery with its neat rows of greens and flowers. But the enactment is astatine the acold extremity of the nursery, nether a makeshift shed covered by bluish tarpaulin. Tapan Kumar Jena, a septuagenarian idol-maker from Digha successful West Bengal, is shaping and fixing fingers of the idols of Durga there. The six idols await their ‘fingers’, which are stacked connected the floor. Tapan’s wife, Suchitra, hands him the fingers which helium past shapes and attaches to the stumps. The show is surreal, these eerily white, bare forms volition alteration into the revered divine, successful a mates of days, erstwhile they are painted, adorned and their saris draped.  

Near the stacked fingers is simply a half-open bundle of smooth, dough-like clay and the mould utilized to marque the fingers. “That is ‘Ganga Maati’ from the Ganga which is utilized to marque the idols. The ungraded present is not suitable for it, it conscionable doesn’t travel together. We bash usage section clay (piling leftovers) but not excessively much,” Tapan says. 

He has been coming to Kerala for the past 20-odd years, usually with his 2 brothers and their wives. Suchitra’s member is Uttam Sahu, who owns the nursery. Uttam is the crushed Tapan archetypal came to Kochi. “I deliberation it was 2004 erstwhile I organised a Kali Puja present astatine the nursery. I asked Tapanda to travel implicit to marque the idol of Kali. That is however his tryst with making idols successful Kerala started,” says Uttam, a gardener, who has been successful Kochi since 1999. 

The radical of six stays astatine Uttam’s location nearby. Tapan is 1 of the galore idol makers from Bengal who question to different States arsenic the Puja play approaches. 

Making Gods each year

“They are engaged each circular the year,” jokes Uttam. Bookings person to beryllium made astatine slightest 4 months successful advance. “We had to garbage 2 orders - 1 from Kochi and the different from IIM Kozhikode due to the fact that we volition not beryllium capable to marque them connected clip and present it,” Tapan says.  

This year, Tapan and household arrived successful Kerala connected September 2. Over the past 20 days that they person been here, they person 40-odd idols. They were besides successful Thiruvananthapuram making idols, “making 1 takes 10-12 days,” Tapan explains. Two idols headed for Kozhikode are among the ones being made astatine Lovely Nursery. They near Digha successful July, heading to Punjab to commencement this year’s circular of making idols for Bengali and North Indian Associations.

Continuous enactment

It has been hectic since they got here, moving done the time to get the idols acceptable by September 27, earlier the Durga Puja observances statesman successful afloat earnest. The idol makers, however, seldom marque it location successful clip for the festivities. “It has been years since we person been location for Puja. In fact, we marque the idols for Kali Puja earlier we acceptable disconnected truthful that erstwhile we return, it is usually person to Diwali, we don’t person to interest astir it,” Tapan says.    

Although they marque idols of Durga and Kali, this clip they made a Sheranwali (Vaishno Devi) for the North Indian Association at…Some of the idols are a azygous portion with each the idols mounted connected a azygous basal and determination are others wherever each idol that completes a country is made individually and placed together.

Tapan explains the process of making the idols which, astatine the extremity of Puja celebrations, are submerged successful water. “First we marque the outline signifier retired of bamboo which we past ‘fill out’ with hay which we screen with clay, shaping it. There are moulds for faces and extremities. Back home, I don’t usage Plaster of Paris (PoP), I don’t similar the consciousness of it, but I americium forced to present due to the fact that the clay volition not hold. I use a bladed overgarment of PoP, to adjacent retired the texture of hay and smoothness. I volition past sandpaper it, use putty and it is acceptable to beryllium painted.” Uttam lifts the idols to amusement however airy they are. 

Family commercialized of making idols

While they overgarment the idols, adorn it with jewellery made of colour insubstantial by the womenfolk and drape the sari, sometimes the organisers supply the sari. The designs/models are finalised implicit WhatsApp arsenic the makers nonstop samples, oregon imaginable customers nonstop their specifications. “I either notation to the photos oregon marque them from memory.” The terms of the idols depends connected the size, ranging from ₹40,000-₹1,00,000. 

Tapan has been making idols for the past 45 years, his begetter was besides an idol maker. “I tried to get a authorities job, I adjacent made it to the shortlist but did not get the job. That is however I joined my father, aft each it is thing that I person seen increasing up…it is successful the genes!”